This invention relates generally to holsters designed to be connectable to a user's waistband, belt or the like, and more particularly to an improved holster having an extended outer garment skirt receiving slot.
Holsters worn by law enforcement officers and security personnel are commonly attached to a belt worn around the user's waist to hold the holster in close proximity to the body and to render the handgun held therein in ready position for use. Many of these users wear uniforms, particularly in colder weather, which extend downwardly below the level of the belt and, therefore, partially conceal the handgun and/or inhibit its access.
Prior art discloses holsters which provide holster hangers which interengage to the user's belt. One such holster is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,197,098 to Clark, while others are disclosed in two U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,101,060 and 3,749,293 to Bianchi. An additional pivotal design between holster and hanger is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,724 to Perkins.
Although all of these references variously provide limited space between holster hanger and holster body to receive the skirt of the elongated outer garment, the slot therebetween nonetheless is somewhat lacking in depth because of the required structure of the above prior art references to facilitate sufficiently strong interengagement between holster hanger and holster body to support a handgun in day-in-day-out use. Additionally, all of the references disclosed above variously include fasteners such as rivets and threaded bolts for interengagement between these members which accelerate wear against the user's pant legs and upper clothing, as well as producing abusive wear to the seating in squad cars. The localized stress produced by rivets and the like, even when coupled with associated peripheral stitching, produces premature deterioration of the connection between holster hanger and holster body.
Further disclosed in the '293 and '060 patents to Bianchi are structures for facilitating removal of a handgun by forwardly movement of the grip of the handgun whereby the handgun exits from the holster through the front opening thereof. The Bianchi references, along with the disclosure in U.S. Pat No. 3,865,289, all disclose front exiting holster bodies which are variously retained in their closed position by the spring biasing action of a length of formed wire imbedded within the layers of flexible material forming the holster body and adjacent the front opening.
The present invention provides a novel holster assembly having an improved structure and means for attaching the holster hanger to the holster body, thus providing an elongated and widened slot for receiving the skirt of upper garments such as jackets, shirts, coats and the like, while also providing a smooth, uninterrupted surface for both holster hanger and inner side of the holster itself. By this invention, then, clothing, handgun and vehicle seat wear are reduced substantially by providing the smooth interrupted surfaces thereagainst and ready access to the handgun is increased while also reducing the "bunching" of the skirt in the slot between holster and holster body. An alternate embodiment of the invention further provides for an improved and integral structure combining the rigid portion of the improved holster hanger and resilient means for the holster body for facilitating front release of the handgun from the holster body itself.